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come on toby !! we need some results from you if you going to qualify for the Olympics. Knuckle down , is only a few months to go ! Those SS matches are tough but you will have to somehow get pass the first hurdle . Is no time for excuses , is now or never !!!

Yeah, it's been a little discouraging but oh well... I guess our last shot will be at the German/All England combo as it is the last of the bigger tournaments for the qualifying period (well, I didn't plan on playing India), so we'll be training hard toward that one! They should be the next International tournaments for me, well, because Canada doesn't seem to want to send me to Thomas Cup Prelims, oh well :P

Yeah, it's been a little discouraging but oh well... I guess our last shot will be at the German/All England combo as it is the last of the bigger tournaments for the qualifying period (well, I didn't plan on playing India), so we'll be training hard toward that one! They should be the next International tournaments for me, well, because Canada doesn't seem to want to send me to Thomas Cup Prelims, oh well :P

Well, they have a specific criteria they set out which is actually based on playing more of the domestic circuit. For my Olympic pursuits in XD, I had to travel around more so I couldn't play as many tournaments with my MD partner back in Canada. We are a pretty solid team and I'm sure we'd probably make 2nd Doubles if we had a trials or something, but since we don't and it's criteria based, we kind of get defaulted out. It's kind of what happened last Thomas Cup where Canada lost to Peru hahaha, I thought they learned their mistake from last time, as Adrian Liu and I couldn't go because of the criteria and it probably would have made a difference I think that time as well. We'll see how things go after our Nationals though. It hasn't been finalized, but they had a preliminary cut and have already named two Doubles teams (with the top one being Adrian and Derrick of course).

Yeah, there isn't a trial tournament. In fact, I don't think there have been trial tournaments in Canada for a long time. Basically, they do it by... results in the best 2 domestic tournaments, plus the 2012 National Championships (in a week and a half), and the best result at any International tournament (International Challenge or higher). I have been only able to make 2 domestic tournaments but played only 1 with my regular partner because he had a work-related event that weekend. Since we can only play 1 tournament together, that pretty much handicaps us severely.

After our National Championships, they will probably name the full team as they still need to select a couple of Singles players and any extras. Makes booking plane tickets quite difficult because it would be just a week before the tournament. Only the tournament hotel will be covered by Badminton Canada (honestly, it's great that they cover something! )

That sounds like a convoluted system. This country is too big. And too isolated from the international badminton powers.
Perhaps Badminton Canada should make their team selection by giving all contenders Tim Horton's coffee cups and ask you to "roll up the rim to win".

Maybe sending you guys to a military style badminton training camp would help with getting results. If you want results , you cant have it easy !
If you look at the China national team , they all are so talented and yet they practice and train harder than anyone out there . This is the reason why they are able to breeze past and win so many tournaments. .......is it all dedication and hard work...........

Maybe sending you guys to a military style badminton training camp would help with getting results. If you want results , you cant have it easy !
If you look at the China national team , they all are so talented and yet they practice and train harder than anyone out there . This is the reason why they are able to breeze past and win so many tournaments. .......is it all dedication and hard work...........

Dedication and hard work are easier when you don't have to foot your own bills and manage your own air plane tickets and traveling. They don't need to write blogs or upload videos, they don't have to worry about manager meetings and booking practice. They don't have financial worries either. However, they DO have high level sparring, World class coaching, and coaches at every major tournament. We didn't even have a coach behind us for all those tournaments, let alone a manager or a team physio.

We have a lot of freedom though and we get a lot more choices and opportunities however. It's just a different system, so I guess we have to make do with what we have.

Also, China is a terrible example to use when they are beating pretty much ALL the other countries. I do see your point though

Very good point. Although I think Staiger wasn't criticizing you, and no one here questions your dedication or work ethic
A training camp like China does it before the Olympics (and before the 09 AE) would most definitely help you guys improve, but it would have to be organised and paid for by the government/badminton association, not much you can do about it yourself...

Have you decided whether to play in the German Open yet? If you do, I might go there twice, to see you lot play for sure in the early rounds, although I hope to see you in the Semis as well

I have been following your results with interest but taken a back seat on the comments

The subject of training camps can be a topic for another thread. I don't think many people realise the organisation and the logistics needed to go to another country, live there, survive there Money is a big concern - like who you get money from, where does it go once you get to that country (i.e. apart from living expenses), what you do if injured..etc.. Perhaps it can be topic for your blog.

I have been following your results with interest but taken a back seat on the comments

The subject of training camps can be a topic for another thread. I don't think many people realise the organisation and the logistics needed to go to another country, live there, survive there Money is a big concern - like who you get money from, where does it go once you get to that country (i.e. apart from living expenses), what you do if injured..etc.. Perhaps it can be topic for your blog.

Ahhh, good idea, we saw a Swiss player who was training in Korea with us last week and he seemed to have some difficulties adjusting from what I saw. Major language barriers, food, and just culture in general were quite different for him. I will see how things go this week or if I have some time next week, as we will be duking it out in Calgary for our 2012 Canadian National Championships

@j4ckie
Yes, I think most of us will be going to German Open and All Englands. Grace and I will not be playing Swiss GPG, though some of the others might. Also, whether Staiger1 was criticizing or not, there is no offense taken. I really do wish we could have a training camp, but the trickiest part is learning how to do things right. Efficiency in the technique is something I feel we lack here in Canada. We can hit the same shots, but usually not to the same quality as higher level players. However, how do we learn how to hit those shots as effectively? Trial and error seems to be the only option, but still, that takes tremendous time. I've tried to learn defense properly and every time I feel I'm a little closer, it's still not the way Kim has been trying to teach me. I've learned it many ways and even when things really make sense, but again, instead of just doing it my way, I personally would rather try to learn it in, let's say a perfect way. Practice can make perfect, maybe, but what if you didn't know what perfect looked like? How can you tell then, that your shots are perfect, or even your practice is perfect?

But perhaps it's this micro-managing that's keeping me behind :P But for the sake of Canadian badminton, I would like to at least learn it the correct way, so that even if I can't do it, maybe I can point someone else in the right direction in the future

I was NOT trying to criticize you ; I am just a fan of yours wishing you to do well and get that chance in the Olympic this year. I follow you on your blog and I just want you guys to win couple of matches at SS level and get the required ranking for the Olympic.

You , Toby is a very decent world-class player (often consistent even at the highest level) and it takes 2 to make a decent world pairing to challenge the best in the world.

I wish there was a rich Canadian billionaire who love badminton so much that he provides funds for all the badminton hopefuls in Canada. Just found out that Steve Nash provides free gym memberships (to his chain of gyms) to badminton hopefuls. At least that's something.

Haha, same goes for me and Germany - I always hope there's gonna be a guy willing to sponsor at least some professionals....it's embarrassing how little they get. Although I think it's still a bit better than Canada's funding situation....